


I'll paint the kitchen neon, I'll brighten up the sky

by rookandpawn



Series: Because You Have to [2]
Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: Easter, F/M, Fluff, Sparkling Moments Challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-04-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:28:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23596099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rookandpawn/pseuds/rookandpawn
Summary: The Because You Have to family celebrates Easter.
Relationships: Scott Moir & Tessa Virtue, Scott Moir/Tessa Virtue
Series: Because You Have to [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1698658
Comments: 18
Kudos: 102





	I'll paint the kitchen neon, I'll brighten up the sky

**Author's Note:**

> Some Easter fun for you all and visit from a family you haven't seen it awhile. Have a great weekend and continue to socially distance. If you haven't read Because You Have To, you might want to before you read this.
> 
> Special thanks Boo for coming up withe Sparkle challenge and to C for the editing.

I'll paint the kitchen neon, I'll brighten up the sky

“MOOOOOOOOOM!” The excited voice of her son jolts Tessa out of the fitful sleep. “He was here. The Easter Bunny came!”

It takes her a minute to orient herself. Details come to her slowly. She’s on the couch in her living room instead of her bed. Eli is asleep on her chest because his newly arriving teeth kept both of them up all night. It’s five o’clock in the morning and there’s an Easter Cream egg melted to her back.

“MOM! MOM!” Jonah’s head appears through the bars in the staircase directly across from where she’s still laying on the couch trapped under Eli, who’s only starting to stir. “There’s chocolate everywhere!”

“I see you’ve already eaten some of it.”

“How can you tell?” He asks. There’s chocolate in a ring around his mouth, on his hands and inexplicably in his hair.

“Moms just know stuff.” Eli stretches and par for the course, hits her in the face. It’s hard to get mad at him because he gives her the most adorable smile. “How about you don’t eat anymore candy and wake up Daddy instead.”

Eli snuggles in closer instead of getting up and murmurs, “Mama.” He takes forever to wake up, just like her. “Daddy isn’t here!”

Right, her mind connects another synapse and she remembers, Scott is on the 7pm to 7am shift, which means he won’t be home for two and half more hours. She’d done a mediocre job of hiding the easter eggs between bouts of Eli screaming in pain. She knows how disappointed Scott was that he hadn’t been able to do it himself, and she knows he won’t want to miss watching Jonah and Eli find them.

“Monkey?” she calls and his head reappears at the top of the stairs. There’s more chocolate on his face than before. So much for not eating anymore eggs. “Do you think you could wait until Daddy gets home from the hospital before you look for any more eggs? I think he’d really like to see you find them.”

“Dada,” Eli agrees and starts to wiggle. Tessa puts him down on the floor and he immediately finds his fallen stuffed crab and lays down on top of it.

“I don’t know if that would be a good idea.” Jonah says a word with every step he takes until he’s standing in front of her. “The Easter Bunny might not like that.”

“I see what you’re saying, but I called him and he agreed that it would be a good idea.” Jonah looks skeptical, as Eli rolls off his crab and onto his stomach. He gets up on all fours and rocks in place but still looks half asleep. “But he said that I should make you pancakes and let you watch Boss Baby since you’re making such a sacrifice.”

“Mommy!” Shock takes over every part of his body. “You hate Boss Baby.”

She hates that movie with a passion that can’t be described. It’s been banned from the house until that moment. “I know.”

“Okay then.” Jonah fist pumps a couple times before jumping onto the couch. “I am ready.”

Eli just yawns at them and then sucks on his fist.

“Mommy, you have something stuck to your back,” Jonah informs her as she heads towards the kitchen, desperately hoping they have some pancake mix.

“Oh right.” She peels the half melted cream egg off her back and without hesitating takes the wrapper off it and pops it in her mouth. She’s going to need some sugar if she’s going to make it through the day.

“Daddy’s home!” Jonah screams as the door chimes signalling Scott’s arrival. They had the door chime installed the day Jonah figured out how to open doors. He’s off the couch and at the front door in a flash, while Eli crawls after him. Tessa breathes a sigh of relief. She was definitely running out of ideas for ways to keep Jonah from continuing the egg hunt.

She arrives at the front door to find Scott balancing Eli on one hip, while Jonah had wrapped himself around Scott’s original leg. Even in all his three year old enthusiasm, he knows better than to bother his prosthetic leg.

“You look tired,” she says as she gives him a kiss. He’s been working a lot of extra hours to make up for the time he took off for the Olympics.

“You look more tired,” he says as he walks towards the living room, dragging Jonah along with him. Jonah roars in excitement and Eli giggles and balls up his fists in excitement.

“Small child number two was up most of the night.” They both collapse on the couch. Eli moves from Scott’s arms to hers and Jonah stays firmly on the floor, still wrapped around Scott’s leg.

“Did you keep your beautiful mommy up all night? Did you?” Scott asks Eli, tickling him under his chin. Eli babbles a stream of dadas in response.

“I think his teeth were more the culprit than Eli,” she says and Eli smiles a gummy, still toothless smile at them.

“Daddy, the Easter Bunny came!” Jonah yells. He’d obviously forgotten for a moment, but once he remembers he leaps to his feet. “And there are eggs everywhere!!!!”

“He came!” Scott winks at her. “Why didn’t you tell me immediately?”

“I told Mommy to text you. She said no.” At almost four, Jonah is very sure he knows more than all the adults in the world.

“I said that we aren’t allowed to bother Daddy at the hospital unless it’s an emergency and that as exciting as the Easter Bunny is, he’s not an emergency.”

Jonah does not look convinced as Scott says, “Why don’t you show me all your eggs?”

“Mommy said I had to wait until you came home because the Easter Bunny left some eggs for you too.”

Scott turns to her, his eyes already welling up. “Well, you have a very smart and beautiful mommy.”

He kisses her until Eli gets in the way and pushes Scott’s face away from hers.

“MAMA,” he says and gives Tessa his own kiss.

“You’ve gotten very possessive buddy, she is my wife.” Scott laughs and stands up. “Gentlemen, let’s go look for eggs!”

Jonah goes racing up the stairs with Scott right on his heels, Eli bouncing in his arms screaming in excitement. She lays down on the couch as soon as they’re gone. There’s no chance she’ll be able to sleep, not with all the banging and Jonah yelling “Bingo!” every time he locates another egg, but she could really use a few minutes of sleep. She thought being a highly trained athlete would make her better at handing children, but it turns out being a mother is really fucking hard.

She’s in that wonderful place where you’re neither asleep nor awake when Scott comes back down and kisses her.

“Where are the boys?” She doesn’t bother to open her eyes.

“They’re up in Eli’s room. Jonah is hiding one of the eggs and Eli is supposed to find it. I don’t think Eli totally understands but they’re having a great time.” She pops an eye open to find him kneeling beside her. He’s still the handsomest man she knows, and she's so thankful they ended up where they are, that she kisses him for real. “What was that for?”

“Just love you.”

“Even after being up all night with a teething baby? I must be amazing in bed.”

“And now I love you a little less,” she says but smiles at him and runs a hand down his face.

“Why don’t you have a nap? You look exhausted. Are you coming down with something?” Ever the nurse, he reaches out to check her temperature.

“I’m fine.” Not sick anyway. “You’re the one who should be going to sleep not me, you just got off shift.”

“Whatever, I’ve got a couple hours in me still.” He pulls her up off the couch and starts to walk her up the stairs.

“Ok, but don’t let me sleep for too long, I have to get ready for tonight.” She’s not sure what possessed her to offer to host Easter dinner but it seemed like a good idea six weeks ago. With his promise to keep the boys quiet, she heads off to bed. She’s out almost as soon as her eyes close.

She wakes up with a sound asleep Eli cuddled up against her, as soon as she stirs he’s wide awake and happy. Eli is almost never grumpy unless his gums are bothering him. Scott must have put him down beside her and she didn’t even notice. They cuddle together for a few minutes before she looks at the clock and realizes that Scott let her sleep for three hours. She’s thankful but also knows that he must be dead on his feet.

He and Jonah are at the kitchen table putting together legos. More accurately Scott is putting together legos and Jonah is banging two matchbox cars together.

“You let me sleep too long,” she says and kisses him on the top of his head. He shrugs and yawns. “Off to bed with you.”

“I’m not going to argue.” He stands up and she notices he’s also changed into pyjamas since she went to sleep. She must have been really out to have missed all that activity. “What time are people showing up at?”

“Five. Is that too soon? I can call and tell them to come later.” He isn’t going to get enough sleep, she really shouldn’t have laid down.

“Nah, I have the next couple of days off and then I switch to the day shift, so I might as well start shifting.”

She has to admit that she likes it so much more when he’s on day shifts. She misses having time with him after the kids go to bed and going to sleep next to him at night. He gives her one final kiss before he heads upstairs. She watches him go because his ass is still entirely too watchable.

“Come on little monkeys, you can help Mommy get ready for the big dinner tonight.”

Eli screams in excitement, while Jonah looks doubtful. “I would rather not.”

She’s not sure where he picked up that phrase, but she would rather he hadn’t. She blames Boss Baby.

“I’m gonna need you to anyway.”

Jonah sighs dramatically, “If I must.”

She can't help but laugh, he really is his father’s son.

The doorbell rings at three o’clock, surprising Tessa who isn’t expecting anyone for another two hours. She’s even more surprised to find Marina on the other side of the door. Since they moved back to London, they hardly see the woman who used to be an everyday fixture in their lives.

“What are you doing here?” Tessa asks with a laugh. She’s delighted to see her former coach, but she definitely wasn’t expecting her.

“I bring gifts,” she says, her arms loaded down with presents. Marina kisses her on each cheek before she hands her the presents. Tessa puts the presents down on the hall bench, before helping Marina with her giant fur coat. “I don’t know anything about what little boys play with so I made the woman at the store help. If they do not like what I have chosen, it’s her fault.”

“Marina! You have a son.”

“He did not play. He skated,” she says with a wave of her hand and heads towards the kitchen. She’s been to their house several times, and Tessa is always stunned that she seems to prefer sitting at the kitchen table to the comfort of the living room. “Have the boys started skating yet?”

“Eli can’t walk yet.”

“He’s lazy.” Tessa can’t help but laugh at the idea of a not even one year old being lazy but at the same time he doesn’t seem to have the constant need to move that Jonah, who walked at ten months, shows in spades. “And Jonah is he skating?”

“He’s in beginner classes?”

“Is he good?” Marina asks with a raised eyebrow.

“He’s a normal four year old,” she lies. Jonah is almost terrifyingly good. He could skate from the moment he put a foot on ice, and is already better than the kids twice his age. But she doesn’t want to make a big deal about it, doesn’t want it to be his whole life the way it became hers.

“You will send him to me when he’s ready.” It’s a statement, not a question and there really is no point in arguing with Marina. “And now the important question. Have you done the test?”

Marina has always known when she’s pregnant. She’d been the one who insisted she take the test when she was in denial about being pregnant, back when she was still skating with Ben and heading towards a run for Pyeongchang. Marina had handed her a pregnancy test and stood outside the bathroom door to make sure she took the test. Had held her hand while she waited for the result, and had hugged her with all her might when the test was positive. She was also completely understanding when she decided to retire, a twist she never saw coming.

With Eli, they’d moved back to London and Marina had come up for a visit to see the house they’d just bought. She’d walked in the door, taken one look at Tessa, and said “You two just can’t keep your hands to yourself.”

They’d been trying that time, anxious to give Jonah a sibling, and hoping that they could have a baby who wouldn’t be too young to take to the Olympics. She hadn’t even taken the test yet, but she’d been hopeful for a few days.

“Make sure this one can skate, too,” was all Marina had to say on the subject.

“Not yet,” she admits, coming back to the present. “But I’m pretty positive.”

She’d had a lot to drink the night Scott’s team won the silver at the Paralympics and she’d been thinking a lot about how three children would be so nice and when the grandparents took the boys for the night… They hadn’t had sex that loud in a long time.

It’s just barely been enough time to do the test, her period is only a day late, but she only gets tired like this when she’s pregnant.

“You will have a girl this time. I am tired of noisy boys,” Marina says and as if to prove her point Jonah comes racing into the kitchen, screaming, with Eli crawling behind him.

“Auntie Marina!” Jonah throws his arms around her and almost knocks her out of her chair.

“Yes, yes. Happy to see you too,” she answers as she removes his arm from around her neck. Jonah almost falls over Eli as he backs up. Unfazed, Eli looks up at Marina and lifts up his arms to her.

“Up,” he demands.

Marina sighs and picks up the baby. “So you talk now?”

“Just that and mama and dada,” Tessa explains, trying not to laugh at the expression on Marina’s face, a combination of horror and affection.

“See, lazy,” Marina shakes her head, but kisses the top of Eli’s head. She turns to Jonah and barks, “Now, you, older one. I have brought you gifts. You go get them and take this small one with you.”

“Yes!” Jonah screams and runs for the front door. Marina puts Eli down on the floor and he follows.

“That one,” she points to Jonah’s retreating back, “is very much like his father.”

“Not that I’m not thrilled you’re here, but why are you here?” Tessa asks as she places a cup of tea in front of Marina. She’s learned exactly how to make it over the years.

“My son and his fiancé want to have a fancy dinner. I do not, so I say I am busy. I decide that this is where I will be busy,” she says just as Jonah yells, “Yes! Magna-tiles!” from the front hall. She's pretty sure they were supposed to bring the presents back before opening them but she’s going to let this one go.

“So you’re staying for dinner?”

“Yes, yes, if you insist.” Marina manages to make it sound as if she’s doing Tessa a favour.

Tessa wakes Scott with soft kisses, a half hour before their guests are due to arrive. She wants to let him sleep longer, but she figures he’ll appreciate the chance to shower and wake up, more than he’ll appreciate the extra sleep.

“Where are the boys?” he asks as he sits up and rubs his eyes. He looks exhausted and she feels guilty.

“They’re in the backyard with Marina.” She was making Jonah run sprints between the two tallest trees in the backyard, while she bounced Eli up and down. Marina called it training and Jonah thought it was the best game in the world. Tessa wished she’d thought of it a long time ago.

“I just woke up, so bear with me, but did you say Marina?”

“I did, and she’s staying for dinner.”

“Surprising but excellent. Hey, T,” he says grabbing her hand and pulling her a little closer to the bed. “You look beautiful.”

“I had time to have a shower and do my hair,” and her make up and put on his favourite dress. Time to spend on her appearance has been in short supply and usually only happens when it’s related to work. She can’t look like a harried mom when she and Ben are on air or touring. “I had to do something else too.”

“Oh?”

“I peed on a stick.”

“What? Really?” They haven’t exactly talked about a third kid, but a smile spreads over his face. “And?”

“Looks like we came home from PYC with more than just a silver medal.”

His hug is even tighter than Marina’s.

Their house is jammed with people and it fills her with a joy that she didn’t think was possible. Fills up all the empty places that she used to have. 

Ben arrives twenty minutes late, bearing a cheesecake and looking confused. “Is the same house you lived in last time I was here?”

“The very same,” she laughs as she kisses his cheek. “I feel like life is so much less complicated than you make it.”

“Possibly,” he says with a shrug. “Where are my nephews?”

“Last I saw them they were in the basement. I’m sure they’ll come running as soon as they know you’re here. But will you make some time to talk to me about the tour before you go?”

“Again, Tess?” He shakes his head. “When are you due this time?”

“January, so we should still be able to do SOI but we should probably modify some of the lifts.” Scott had told their families as soon as they walked in the door, even though it was probably too early to be telling the world. But he’d never been able to contain his excitement about anything, especially children.

“I’m happy for you, but you two need to figure out how to keep your hands to yourselves or like how birth control works or something.” He kisses her head, and goes off in search of her sons. He’s their favourite uncle which strikes her as funny sometimes since he’s not actually related. But then again, family is really what you choose and so she guesses that makes Ben the most family of all.

Long after dinner, when most of the family has gone for the night and there are only a few stragglers left in the kitchen, she finds Scott and Marina in the living room looking at their medals above the mantle. Scott has his arm slung over her shoulder and she’s laughing at something he said.

“Did Eli go down without a fight?” he asks when he realizes she’s there, and slings his other arm around her shoulders.

“Eli always goes to sleep without complaint.” She just lays him down in his crib and he goes to sleep with a little wave and a tired, “mama.” “Jonah on the other hand has talked your mom into five more minutes twelve times.”

“I have taught the small one a new word. You are welcome,” Marina informs them, and indeed Eli has been saying something that sounds like tree all afternoon.

“What do you think, Marina? Three slivers is pretty good,” Scott says.

“They would have been gold, if you had skated together.”

“You think?” Tessa asks. She can’t quite picture it.

“I know, but then if you had the golds you might not have this.” She waves her hand to indicate the room, the house, the pictures on the walls. “So maybe the silvers are a good trade. Do not ask me, I would have taken the gold.”

Scott and Tessa both laugh, which she thinks was Marina’s intention. Even after having known her for more than a decade she’s still not sure she understands Marina’s sense of humour.

“So, Scott, when will you come coach with me?” Marina asks, moving out from under his arm and turning to face him.

“I’m a nurse.”

“Yes, yes, very noble and all that.” Marina waves a dismissive wave. “And yet a waste. You come and coach and Tessa will choreograph and everyone will be happy, yes?”

“I’m not gonna lie, I miss it, but I think I’m where I’m supposed to be.” She knows he misses it, She watches the way he analyzes every skater and competition, and she knows he would be a great coach. But she also knows how much he loves being a nurse.

“I pay better.”

“I’m still going to have to say no.” He hugs Marina and she thumps his back three times.

“And you? Are you ready to be a choreographer now?”

The offer is tempting, incredibly so. She has a million ideas in her head, programs she dreams to life each night before she goes to bed or when she’s doing the dishes. Sometimes the skaters are her and Ben, she choreographed all their routines this past year. The special ones are the programs she dreams up for her and Scott. Those she’ll use someday, when she meets the right team.

“Maybe in a few years? When we’re not so busy.” She rubs her belly for emphasis.

“Children are our future, and we must raise them well. You’ll come to me when you’re ready.” She turns to the kitchen and calls, “I am leaving now, do not come and say goodbye.”

They follow her to the front door where Scott helps her with her coat.

“Thank you for the gifts,” Scott says, after he’s kissed both her cheeks. Marina had given Eli a stuffed frog, Tessa a gorgeous silk scarf, and Scott an envelope of cash. She thinks Marina might be under the impression they’re poor.

“Eh, girl at store picked them out. Thank her.” Tessa doesn’t really believe her, but she nods as if she does.

Marina departs with a hug and a look of disapproval which means she had an excellent time.

It’s late when they finally chase the last straggler out of the house, and all she can manage is to brush her teeth and get into bed in a tank top and underwear. She’s already half asleep by the time Scott joins her in bed. He smells minty fresh and still a little like chocolate, so she snuggles in closer, her nose touching his. He runs a hand up her back and into her hair. She knows both of them would like to have sex, it’s been too long, but they’re both exhausted.

“This might have been the best Easter of my life,” he says.

“You say that every year.”

“And it’s true every year.” He moves a hand to her belly. It’s warm and comforting and even though he won’t be able to feel the baby, she hopes he leaves it there. “Bet next year will be even better.”

“We’re going to have to start thinking of boys' names, again.” Jonah was a relatively easy choice. They hadn’t picked Eli’s name until she was in labour, and she suspects they’re going to have an even harder time with this one.

“It might be a girl,” he says softly. They have a girl’s name picked out, have since they found out she was pregnant with Jonah, but it’s a secret between them.

“Do you care?”

“No, boys are awesome, and so are girls.” This is the thing that she loves most about her husband that he sees every moment in life as an adventure, that every twist and turn just fills him with joy. She moves closer to him, kisses him and runs her hands down his back to grip his ass.

“I thought we agreed that we were too tired for this.” His hand is already half way up her shirt.

“Who needs sleep?”

He starts to knead her breast, roll her nipple…

“Mommy! Daddy!” Jonah’s voice rings down the hallway and they both stop their hands. He’d been sound asleep when she checked on him only fifteen minutes before.

“What’s up, buddy?” Scott answers, trying not to laugh.

“Eli is scared.”

“Eli is sound asleep.”

“Still, I think it would be better if I came in there, just to be safe,” Jonah calls back.

Scott looks down at her and she nods, sighs when he removes his hand. “That’s probably a good idea.”

She can hear Jonah’s feet run down the hallway and he’s in between them in a flash.

“I wasn’t scared though,” he says and snuggles into Tessa.

“We know,” Scott agrees, and rests his hand on Jonah’s head. It only takes a couple of minutes and their little boy is sound asleep.

“Would you?” she whispers. “Would you have traded silver for gold?”

“If it meant I had to give up this? Not a chance.” 

“Me neither.”

They hold hands over their sleeping boy and their wedding rings clink together.


End file.
